Growth Mechanism of a Sandbar Formed in Coral Reef Pond

2008 
In Awase area, Okinawa, two sandbars which extend perpendicular to the coastline are formed. This study intends to understand growth mechanism of the sandbars and to examine if the predicted sea level rise by global warming influences the sandbar formation. By analyzing sounding survey data, it is confirmed that the centroid of the sandbar is moving onshore with 26m/y and the volume is increasing with 500m3/y. These facts show that the sandbar gradually grows extending in the onshore direction. The onshore extension is caused by that the wave energy concentration on a shoal gathers coral sand and supplies them to the sandbar. It is also confirmed that high waves at high tide deform the sandbars rapidly. Therefore, the sandbar deformation by sea level rise is important and should be carefully examined.
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